In general, fabrics are woven in two dimensions. The warp and fill interlace in a single x-y plane resulting in a fabric that has various decorative and surface characteristics. These two dimensional fabrics can also use double weaves in the fill and warp direction to add texture and design features to the fabric surface. Pile fabrics such as terry and velvet can be produced by weaving two layers simultaneously with the pile yarn connecting the layers. More complex face to face fabrics are exhibited in U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,186 to Debaes et al (2001). Construction on Jacquard machines using multiple sheds to create carpeting and velvet structures is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,663 to Dewispelaere et al (1999).
Three dimensional fabrics and textile articles use double weaves to create tubes and tunnels along the fill and warp direction. Using the double weaves for the formation of tubes and tunnels with shuttle looms allows for a seamless shape in the machine direction. This process will result in articles large enough to produce tee shirt type garments. Products designed with electronic and optic components benefit from this continuous weaving characteristic of shuttle looms. These products are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,551 to Jayaraman (2000). Shuttle-less looms are used to produce a woven type of joining in three dimensions. These are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 7,069,961 to Sollars (2006) for pressurized cushions by creating large open spaces between woven joined perimeters. Another technique for creating three dimensional shaped fabrics binding two layers from single connectors is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,471 to Jonas. A more architectural approach is achieved through fill-tow and cross shaped fill insertion to multiple layers for composite materials in aeronautics as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,099 to Schmidt et al (2004).
Each of these techniques exhibit advantages in unique textile products. They provide complex weave structures specifically designed to meet the performance needs of the individual article. However, further benefit can be realized by envisioning the patterning on the loom as a three dimensional Cartesian coordinate system (x, y, z) rather than limiting the product to the bi-coordinate planes (x, y). Further advantages can be expanded by increasing the number of interlacings (picks and ends) on the loom set up. Pick and end counts that have a low number of interlacings (400 per inch, 20 ends×20 picks) would not provide adequate pixel sites to create 3D product. However, moderate end counts of 9600 ends can accommodate up to 100 picks per inch per layer. This would expand to 71,000 possible pixel sites per inch for 4 level multi-layered patterning. Silk loom set ups are even higher with 20,000 ends and up to 300 picks per inch. This construct results in 100,000 interlacing sites (pixels) per inch. By weaving four layers the number of possible interlacings (pixels) increases to 400,000 per inch. Connecting the multiple layers through an expanded double weave type of process can produce three dimensional product on the loom. Such an invention would mechanize the manufacture of typical cut and sew operations for woven textile product.
It is the intent of the present invention to provide a weaving process that will form interconnected weave structures that use non vertically aligned warp ends in successive layers of simultaneously woven fabric plans. The warp and weft yarn interlacings created between and among the non-aligned shifted fabric plane arrays, will be referred to as “warp yarn and weft yarn connectors” herein. The combination use of these connectors and fabric layers will enable textile design to create textile product that is full to semi-full fashioned on the loom.